The Cornish setting is both real and fictional. Bramble Cottage is a fictional place in an unspecified location within driving distance of Mullion and Falmouth on the Lizard Peninsular, which of course are real places, as is Porthleven and Port Isaac. I’ve taken liberties with the beach Jenna and Finn visit by not naming it and by giving the beach near it a fictional name, although it’s not dissimilar to many of the beaches found along the Cornish coast.
A huge thank you as always goes to Judith van Dijkhuizen who beta read an early version of the book. Always honest and thoughtful with her comments, she never fails to help me make a novel better because of her suggestions. My wonderful editor, Helen Baggott, polished the final manuscript ready for publication.
Jessica Bell worked on the covers for the whole of my Romantic Escape series at the same time and I could not be happier with the results. The cover for A Starlit Summer evokes the setting and the idea of an escape to the countryside, which I love.
I wrote the first draft of A Starlit Summer in 2019, well before the world was turned on its head with Covid-19. I think it’s important for fiction to allow readers a virtual escape from the real world, so there’s no mention of coronavirus and there won’t be in the subsequent novels in the series either. They’re romantic escapes and I want them to remain uplifting, heartfelt and hopeful with a good dash of romance. Pure escapism.
Thank you to all my readers who have read my books, supported me and left such lovely reviews, it means the world. Lastly, a huge thank you to my husband Nik, my son Leo, and my parents for their never ending support.
